Portable manifold and hose stand



Dec. 13, 1949 ca SHAFFER ET AL 2,499,839

I PORTABLE MANIFOLD AND HOSE STAND Filed March 1:5, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS Char/es Shaffer Phi/40 G.H9/75cn BY I Lou/ 5 J Schfmmol/cr R LLW Dec. 13, 1949 c. SHAFFER ET AL' PORTABLE MANIFOLD AND HOSE STAND 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 13, 1945 MANIFOLD Patented Dec. 13, 1949 PORTABLE MANIFOLD AND a Shaf r. Philip E- G.- Ew mt- L uis s chimm N wjlqtls' f i lif."

Application March 1'3, 1945, Serial No. 582,47: 6 laims; e s-m (Granted under the act 01% March 3; 1888', as

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the qovernmentofthe. Unitedv States of Arr e rica for governmental purposes. without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor. M

This invention relates to oxyacetylene welding equipment and more particularly to improvements in manifolds and hose, stands for oxyacetylene equipment.

An object of this invention is to provide a portable manifold. having outlets for combustible gases.

A further object is to provide a portablernani; fold with convenient racks for supporting gas carrying hose.

A still further object is to decrease the necessary length of gas-carrying hose.

Another object is to increase the safety of operating a gas welding unit wherein the gas-carry-M ing hose is of considerablelength.

Further objects and advantages of this invention, as well as its construction, arrangement and operation, will be apparent from the following description and claims in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a View, in perspective, of a horizontal type stand, showing a preferred embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a view of a modification showing a candlestick or vertical type stand similar in operation to the horizontal stand shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detailed drawing of the, manifold coupled to the pressure gage and reducing valve; and

Fig. 4; is a schematic diagram showing two portable manifolds in operation at a shipyard.

Similar numerals refer tosimilar parts through: out the several views.

In the construction of building ways or huge ships such as aircraft carriers and battle-ships, there is always present the problem of conveying the oxygen and acetylene or other suitable combustible gases from the main source of supply to the ship. or work station.

In order to overcome the need for long leads, from. the main source of gas to the work station, ga bottles or tanks of varying sizes were here toifore brought near the Work station and discarded or removed when empty. However, when the'need for a continuous supply of combustible amended 1pril:30-, 1928; 370 O. 'G; 757) gases is great and imr n ediate, as inthe repair of a sh p that must be retprnedto action as soon as possible, the constant repla'cement of empty tanks with filled tanks becomefslan annoyingand rten" critical we te swine."

' present invie'ritign surmounts these dimculties inherent in the us'tf su h blames and tank by providing a portable inanifoldhavi'fi'g convenientlyspacgl racks thereon for support-: ing gas-carryinghose agn'd 'pelrinitt'ing a direct att p n t tiy'tne main b r tbntitlrm gseurc so that a "continuous" supply"'o'f gas is' ajlway s' tailabla g. l shows a portablen aniiold consisting of; a

rigid page I ll of any suitable materiafn'ioiin'ted on' 1| with two lmerteav-siatea sil'pfidrts' iz' dtg; the base Thhoriidntafcross ie s. aaat e' lr s a T4 and We me ts thatcornplete the: fram worlito' which, an

the ga en. me iiio d L6 and. acetylene manifold I! are pressure gages n a- 1 b e efl. each outletv of. the, manifold. 'The cock 2|, isthe,

a sh t-9i? o he ox en su y. a he. Po t ble man f ld? nsrt is a i r;- shut-cg for v the, acetylene. supply. The. flexible hoses, 2; and-2,4; ar respectiv'ely.thev oxygen and;

acetylene. leads. that: connect the, portable. mani fold with the main source of gas 25 (shown in Fig. 4 A support, consisting of a verticalmetal stanchion. 26- and a L t-shaped. member. 21, on which the coiled surplus of" the main hoses Hand; 24 are hung, is welded, bolted or otherwise; secured.- fixedly. to a plate 28 that connects the, two top horizontal; bars 13 and the two inverted V-shaped supports 12.

Numberediipright arms 29. forming hose supports are placedat spaced: intervals along the.

horizontal bars (-3 and also on the transverse bars l4 that'are disposed approximately in the center ofthe framework as shown in Fig' 1. These up- I'B, e: dupin v lves. tar, and hut-. 1? Q 1!.- A a weather-shield for the gages l8, pressure regulators i9, and shut-off cocks 20. The hoses 32 and 33 are the oxygen lead and acetylene lead, respectively, and connect with another portable manifold not shown in the drawing.

The candlestick type modification shown in Fig. 2 is used in close quarters or in confined areas wherein the use of the horizontal type would be prohibitive because of lack of space. It is supplied by an oxygen hose 34 and an acetylene hose 35, which"carry"the gases" from the main source into the portable manifold through vertical manifolds 36 and 31, The pressure gages 38, the

reducing valves 39, the shut-off cocks 40, and nipples 4| connected to these manifoldsjfi and-31 are similar to the corresponding devices men tioned in the description of thehorizontal type portable manifold shown in Fig."'J,.';j Ihe oxygen manifold 36 and acetylene manifold 31 are secured to a rigid base 42 and rollers43-ai attached to the underside of the base 4| so that the entire manifold can be moved easily from station to station. The outlets 44 andg45iare respectively the oxygen and acetylene outletsito-iwhich hoses are attached to connecflwith another portable manifold."

A stanchion 46 is secured to. the base 42. The said stanchion runsparallel to the manifolds 36 and 3,1 andall three, stanchion and manifolds, are secured to a substantially-circular lid 41, said lid 41 serving as a weather-shield for the gages 38,-valves 39, and cocks Mix-"Eosupportthe .in-

coming and outgoing-main acetylene and oxygen leads,- U-shaped racks 48- are-secured-fixedly to the substantially circular lid .41.-' To further brace the manifolds 36 and 31 andthe stanchion 46, a plate 49 is secured torthese three elements below the lid 46.

Fig. 4 is a schematicdiagram showing the able manifolds of Figs. 1 and 2 in operation. The object to be worked uponis usually-at a fixed station, suchas a ship in port or a building :under construction.-- Consequently, the distance from the main source of gas supply'tothe immediate environs of the work station is of a known and.

relatively fixed length. The two lengths of hose 23 and 24 serve as the connecting links between the main sources of gas 25 and the portable manifold. J l

The hoses 30 are now tapped off from .the .portable manifold to the shipor workstation. As many pairs of oxygen and acetylene outlets can be used as is desired, but the use of too many outlets cn one portable manifold'tends to make the latter cumbersome and unwieldy. In one embodiment of the invention, a total of ten outlets. five for oxygen and five for acetylene, was found satisfactory.

When the portable manifold is in'the vicinity ofthe working area, the hoses 30 are connected to the appropriate nipples of the portablestand and these hoses 3B are in turn connected to the welders hand torches. Should some of the hoses 30 be idle temporarily, they are coiled aboutthe manifold and the point of welding, it takes little time to trace the hoses- 30, especially whena leak takes place in the hose and it is necessary to shift I portoff the proper cock on the portable manifold quickly.

In Fig. 4, a portable manifold of the candlestick or vertical type of Fig. 2 is shown connected in series with the horizontal type of Fig. 1. Thus it is possible to maintain a constant source of gas from a central source to any number of ships or stations by using any number of portable manifolds connected in series.

Modern fighting vessels such as aircraft carriers andbattleships are over 800 feet in length. It is not unusual to make oxy-acetylene'welds on parts of a ship that are 1000 feet or more from the main gas source. a continuous :yet flexible supply of combustible The present invention provides gasesifrom the main source.

, Theuse of these portable manifolds causes a great saving of hose. Previously, in order to maintain a; continuous supply of gas from the main source, hoses were attached to the individual nipples of the stationary manifold and were extended to reach to the working area. The present invention requires only two hoses from the main source to the vicinity of one working conduits to said manifolds for transporting. said combustible gases to said manifolds, and gas regulators and gas outlets disposed at spaced intervals along said manifolds.

2. In a distribution device for supplying gases from a main source of combustible gases, a mov-- able carriage framework, a plurality of manifolds secured to said framework, uprights secured fixedly to longitudinal and transverse bars comprising apart of said framework, gas regulators and gasoutlets disposed at spaced intervals along saidmanifolds, and means for attaching flexible hoses to said gas outlets.

3. In a distribution device for form a mainsource of combustible gases, a movable carriage framework comprising a base, inverted V- shaped members mounted on said base,

transverse and.longitudinal elcments secured to saidV-shaped members, a plurality of manifolds secured to said movable carriage framework, gas regulators and gas outlets disposed at spaced intervals along said. manifolds, and means for connecting flexible conduitsto said manifolds for able carriage framework comprising a base, in-

verted, V-shaped members mounted on saidrbase,

transverse and longitudinal elements secured to said V-shaped members, a plurality of manifolds secured to said movable carriage framework, gas regulators and gas outlets disposed at spaced, in-

tervals along said manifolds, means for connecting flexible conduits to said manifolds for transporting said combustible gases to and from said Such proximity serves to speed-up the supplying gases 5 manifolds, and U-shaped members secured to the inverted V-shaped members for supporting the coiled surpluses of said flexible conduits.

5. In a distribution device for supplying gases from a main source of combustible gases, a movable carriage framework comprising a base, inverted V-shaped members mounted on said base, transverse and longitudinal elements secured to said V-shaped members, a plurality of manifolds secured to said movable carriage framework and having gas regulators and gas outlets attached thereto, means for connecting flexible conduits to said manifolds for transporting said gases to and from said manifolds, racks for receiving the coiled surpluses of the flexible transporting means secured to said movable carriage framework, and a protective weather-shield secured to the tops of the V-shaped members.

6. In a distribution device for supplying gases from a main source of combustible gases, 2. carriage base, a vertically-disposed supporting structure connected to said base, a plurality of vertically-disposed gas manifolds secured to said CHARLES SHAFFER. PHILIP E. G. HANSEN. LOUIS J. SCHIMMOLLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 724,416 Amet Apr. 7, 1903 1,244,030 Cave Oct. 23, 1917 OTHER REFERENCES Oxweld Welding and Cutting Apparatus, The Linde Air Products Company, 1938. 

